Shipping-blank and blank-book.



No. amuse. Patented May l4, l90l.

a. E. FELCH.

SHIPPING BLANK AND BLANK 800K.

(Application flied May 24, 1900.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet I.

Patantad May I4, I90I.

G. E. FELGH.

SHIPPING BLANK AND BLANK 800K.

(Application filed m 24, 1900.

4 Sheats-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

Inventor.

" WQSQM Patented May l4, I90l. I e. E. FELCH. SHIPPING BLANK AND BLANKBOOK.

(Application filed mg 24, 1900.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

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No. 674,058. Patented May 14, MN. 6. E. FELCH.

SHIPPING BLANK AND BLANK BOOK. (Application filed May 24, i900. (NoModel.) 4 Shaets -Sheet 4.

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GILEERT E. FELCI-I, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHIPPING-BLANK AND BLANK-BOOK.

SPECIFICATIQN forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 674,058, dated May 14,1901.

Application filed May 24,1900. serial No. 17,814. \No model.)

a9 (1Z7 whom it may concern-.-

Be it known that I, GILBERT E. FELcH, of Somerville, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Shipping- Blanks and Blank-Books, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention has relation to freight or express records used by commoncarriers in the transportation of goods and merchandise.

Various systems are now in use by means of which the consignor isprovided with a re ceipt for the merchandise signed by the agent of thecommon carrier, a way-bill is forwarded with the merchandise, theforwarding-office V retaining acopy, and athird copyis made by thedeliveringoffice. Said systems, however, render it difficult to quicklysecure information for loss-and-damage claims because of the recordsbeing scattered, entail unnecessary work at the offices of theforwarding company or common carrier, and consequently require theemployment of a large force of clerks to attend to the daily business atsaid offices.

One object of the present invention is to pro vide receipts or vouchersfor the consignee, the consignor, and the carrier, a way-bill ormanifest, and other copies and vouchers, and at the same time reduce tothe minimum the necessary clerical work at the offices of the carrier ortransportation corporation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a book of blanksespecially adapted for the reception of such data as may prove necessaryin the conduct of the business of the carrier and the consignor, saidbook'having leaves or blanks for manifolding and detachment and capableof being closed or folded into relatively small compass.

To these ends the invention consists of shipping records or blankshaving certain novel characteristics, all as illustrated on thedrawings,described in the following specification, and particnlarized inthe appended claims.

Referring to said drawings, Figure 1 represents a book of blanksembodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents an edge elevation of the same.Fig. 3 represents asection through the book. Fig. 4 represents one ofthe dou ble blanks or leaves detached. Fig. 5 illustrates a leaf of oneof the blanks, Whichis divisible into three parts. Fig. (5 illustrates atriple blank, which is divisible into nine parts; and Fig. 7 representsan edge view of the same folded for copying.

It will be seen by reference to the drawings that the book is providedwith a cover comprising two sections or lids a a, of relatively stiffmaterial, as paste board, connected by a thin flexible back (t to permitthe two lids or sections to lie in parallelism when closed or to beopened out flat, as shown in Fig. 2. The three outer edges ofeachsection are provided with upturned flanges a, which may when thecover is folded meet and which act to hold the leaves or blanks inplace.

The leaves of the book consist of blanks which I shall subsequentlydescribe, and they are held in place by spring clips passed through apart of each blank, said clips c0mprising an end b to penetrate theleaves at one side of the fold, a spring b, and a flattened free end bto lie upon the leaves and press them against the inner face of thesection of the cover. Any number of these spring-clips may be employed,although for general purposes I find that two are sufficient, The blanksare long enough to extend from edge to edge of the cover, and each oneis "perforated, whereby it may be doubled upon itself so as to have oneleaf lie upon the top of the constantly between the two leaves of themid dle blank in the book. Each blank may be easily detached by drawingit gently downward from the clip, the end of the clip penetrating saidone leaf of the blank near its upper edge, so that a slight tear made inthe blank is not noticeable and does not injure it in any way. Theblanks are perforated, so that they may be divided into four pieces orsections, each adapted for a different use from any of the others.

In the embodiment of the invention shown upon Figs. 1 to 5 of thedrawings the blank is provided with a longitudin'afrow of perforations dand a transverse row of perforations (1 whereby it is divisible intosections 1, 2, 3, and 4. The sections 1 and 2 constitute one leaf, andthe sections 3 and 4 constitute another leaf, the leaves being separablefrom each other and each being adapted for division, as stated. Theprinting on the two leaves, however, is exactly similar, (except thatthe matter on the sections 2 and 4 is preferably in red or some othercolor, whereby they may be distinguished from the sections 1 and 3,) sothat when a carbon or manifolding sheet is placed between the two leavesof the blank the matter written upon the original or the section I 2 istransferred to the duplicate or the section 3 or 4. a

When the blank is divided into its various sections, it serves a varietyof purposes. It provides, first, a voucher for the consignor, signed byhis shipping-clerk, bythe truck man, and by the receiving orinvoiceclerk of the carrier or transportation company; second, a record of theshipment to be retained at the receiving and forwarding office of thecarrier or transportation company; third, a manifest or way-bill to beforwarded by the receiving-ofiice of the corporation to thedelivering-ofiice, as well as a voucher signed by the receiving-clerk atthe forwarding-office, (this way-bill also serving as a voucher whensigned by the consignee upon the delivery of the goods,) and, fourth, aduplicate way-bill which is sent to the consignee by the consignor andwhich serves as a voucher when signed by the agent or delivery-clerk atthe delivering-office of the carrying or transportation company. Thevarious sections may also serve avariety of other purposes, which Ishall explain hereinafter, and the four sections of each blank allreceive the same progressive number, so that they may be easily comparedand identified.

In order, of course, to provide for the manifolding, the blank is soprinted that the matter appears (when it is spread out, as shown in Fig.4) on the front face of the right-hand leaf and on the opposite face ofthe left-hand leaf, so that when they are doubled along the line ofperforations d one is directly over the other. Inasmuch as the twoleaves of the blank are exact duplicates of each other, ex-

cept in the color of the ink used in printing,

I shall describe only one of them in detail;

Referring to Fig. 4, there is a space atfin the middle of the sheet fora cut'for advertising matter relating to the common carrier,

and at the lower left-hand corner is also a space for the name of thesaid carrier. At 9 there is a space for the address of the consig-nor, aspace h for the name of the consignee, another space 2'' directlytherebeneath for the address of the consignee, a lower space j for thename ofthe consignor, with still an other space below it, as at 70, forthe signatureoftheconsignorsshipping-clerk. These spaces are arrangedina vertical line, one below the'other, for convenience, but they may beotherwise placed upon the blank, if

desired. In another vertical line, at the right hand of the section 3,there is a space mfor the signature of the receiving or invoice clerk ofthe common carrier, and under the blank appear the words Received ingood order. There is likewise a space it for the signature of theexpressman or truckman who removes the merchandise or goods from theconsignors establishment to the ofiice of the carrier. Of the twosect-ions 1 and 3 the former is delivered to the carrier and the latteris retained by the consignor and, as stated, serves as a voucher toprove the deliveryof the goods in good condition into the hands of thecommon carrier. The section 4 is printed in the form of a way-bill ormanifest and at the right-hand end contains blanks for the informationwritten upon the said blanks 1 and 3, a space 0 for the address of theconsignor and the date, spaces 10 p for the name and address of theconsignee, a space q for the name of the consignor, a space 0" for thesignature of the shipping-clerk of the consignor, and also a space 3 forthe signature of the receiving-clerk of the common carrier, a space ifor the signature of the consignee, and spaces at'tt, u, and a forinformation regarding the classification of the merchandise (Whether themerchandisebe sent prepaid, charged, or O. O. D.) and also the amount ofthe bill. At the left-hand end of each of the sections 2 and 4 there isa space for the name of the common carrier and for the words For chargesprepaid to for the hereinnamed consignee. Amount-. The blank spaces areto be filled in by the consignor and the clerks at the office of thecarrier. There is likewise a space at c for the signature of thereceiving-clerk of the common carrier. In the middle of the left-handend of each section 2and 4 there are ruled spaces for-data as to thecharacter of the goods shipped, the number of packages, the weight, andthe freight-rate, and at the lower portion there is a space to for theroute, a space at for the signature of the freight-cashier, and a spacey for the total advance charges on the ship ment. The major part of thewriting upon the blanks is done at the office of the consignor.

Assuming that a shipment is made by Richard Roe, the consignor, to JohnSmith, the consignee, at St. Paul, Minnesota, via the Boston, Chicagoand St. Paul railroad, the following transactions will take place: Atthe office of the consignor a clerk will fold the leaf 1 2 upon the leaf3 and 4 with a inanifolding-sheet between them and will write in thespaces provided for the data in the section 1 the following? Boston, May1st, 1900, John Smith, St. Paul, Richard Roe, and upon sections 2 and 4,in the spaces prepared for them, the following dat a: Boston, May 1st,1900, John Smith, St. Paul, Richard Roe. Assuming that the merchandisebe chimneys and reflectors, in the ruled space the clerk will write: 100packages chimneys; 150 packages reflectors. The shipping-clerk will nowplace his signatures in the spaces and 'r as soon as he has deliveredthe merchandise to the truckman. Peter Mally, the truckman, on receivingthe goods signs the section 3, and the double leaf is taken to thereceiving-office of the carrying or transportation company, and when thegoods are delivered there the receivingclerk, Harry Snow, tears 0%sections 1 and 2 and signs in the placesm and s on the sections 1, 2, 3,and 4, said last-mentioned sectionsto wit, 3 and 4being then returned tothe office of the consignor. The section 3 therefore is a voucher forthe consignor showing that the goods have been delivered in goodcondition to the common carrier. The consignor tears oif section 4 andmails it to the consignee.

At the office of the common carrier the packages are Weighed and theirweight is noted upon the space upon section 2, and the express charge isalso noted in the space reserved for it. Assuming that the goods aresent with advance charges and that the consignee pays the freight, theshipping-clerk at the office of the consign or writes in at the space itthat fact. The words Oollect freight may be employed to designate thatthe goods are sent F. O. B. at the place of shipment. At thereceiving-office of the common carrier the sectioh 1 is retained, andthe section 2 or the way-bill is forwarded to the deliveringoifice ofthe carrier, which in this case is at St. Paul. Upon receipt of thegoods at that office the freight-agent notifies the consignee, and thelatter who has in the meantime received the section 4 from the consignorpresents the same at the office of the carrier for comparison with thesection 2. When the consignee receives the goods, he signs section 2 inthe space if reserved for his signature, and upon his payment of thefreight charges the freight cashier or agent of the carrier signssections 4 at the space at. The transactions are now complete. Thecommon carrier has the receipt. from the consignee that the goods werereceived in proper condition. The consignee has a receipt or voucherfrom the railroad company that it has received payment for the freightcharges. The auditor of the common carrier has a receipt from thefreight cashier or agent showing that the freight charges were paid bythe consignee, this being section 2, and the consignor has the vouchersigned by the truckman and the receiving-clerk of the railroad companyor common carrier showing that the goods were received in good conditionby them.

As previously stated, all of the sections of one blank have spaces 2 zfor the progressive number by which the four sections may be identified.The blanks are provided with spaces for the reception of othermatter-as, for instance, when the merchandise is to be sent to astorage-warehouse or to be transferred to another carrier, such as arailroad or steamboat company. On the sections 1 and 3 are spaces m mfor the name of the railroad, storage, or steamboat company to which thegoods are to be transferred by the common carrier which has firstreceived them and also the place at which the transfer is to be made.There is likewise a space m for the signature of the agent of suchrailroad, storage, or steamboat company, and at m there is a spate forthe signature of the consignee. This, however, is unnecessary exceptwhere the sections are divided on a vertical line coincident with thelines which separate the spaces on the lower right-hand end of section4: from the spaces on the lefthand end. The sections 2 and t have likewise spaces for the reception of the data just referred to.

It will be observed that the blank which I have just described may beused for the transaction of all kinds of business, for city delivery aswell as for deliveryin distant towns. Should the goods be sent 0.0.D.orcharged, there are spaces for the reception of matter stating thatfact, and such matter appears upon the duplicate way-bill and voucherthat is sent to the consignee, as Well as on the waybill delivered tothe common carrier. On the books of the blanks or on the sections may beprinted advertising matter or the usual con ditions that are printedupon way-bills or freight-receipts.

On Fig. 5 I have shown one leaf of a blank full size, in which there isan additional row of perforations a, by means of which the sections 2 4may be each again separated into two divisions 5 6 to provide anadditional voucher for use in case the goods are transferred to a secondcarrier or to a storagewarehouse. In using this blank the consignor mayutilize the red section 5 for his private bill to the consignee.

In Figs. (5 and 7 I have illustrated an embodiment of the inventionwherein the blank is perforated to form three separable leaves, each ofwhich is divisible into three sections and wherein an inscription of oneleaf suffices for all the leaves. The form of the matter printed uponeach leaf is similar to that alreadydescribed,the three leaves beingprinted in red, black, and green, respectively. The end leaves 17. h areprinted on one face of the blank, while the middle leaf h is printed onthe other leaf, so that when the blank is folded the leaves all have thematter facing upward. A doublefaced carbon -sheet is placed between thetwo lowerleaves,and hence matter written upon the top leaf istransferred to the lower leaves. The paper of which theblank is made isrelatively thin and transparent, and although the written IIO matter istransferred to the back side of leaf 1 0 k it may be easily read fromthe front by placing the leaf on blank white paper.

list of the goods or articles shipped may be written upon a portion nototherwise used in the upper half of each sheetas, for instance, in theform shown in Fig. 5 in the space below the words Corporation agent andin the form shown in Fig. 6 in the space at the left of the words Amountof bill. In using the blank the entire red sheet is returned to theconsignor after it is signed by the receiving-clerk of the carrier, thetruckman,and the consignors shipping-clerk. The upper half of the sheetis iri this case the duplicate of the manifest given thefreightconductor and is a signed receipt for the goods. The lower halfhe sends to the con signee, the large portion thereof serving as hisprivate bill. The consignee signs the smaller portion on receipt of thegoods and returns it to the consignor, who files it away with thecarriers receipt. Of the green sheet the upper part is given thefreight-conductor as a way-bill, while the lower portion is sentin-.

tact to the auditing or recording office of the carrier to serve as arecord. Of the black sheet the upper part is retained at theforwarding-office of the carrier as a record, and the lower portion issent by-mail or otherwise to the destination of the carrier. The largerend is the carriers bill to the consignee and is receipted by thecarriers agent and given the consignee upon payment of the freightcharges. The smaller end is signed by the consignee upon the receipt ofgoods and is retained at the destination-office of the carrier. A blankthus constructed is adapted for a great variety of uses and furnishesnine receipts or vouchers to be distributed among the consignor, theconsignee, and the various offices of the common carriers, or bailees.

It is evident that numerous modifications of the blanks herein describedmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. I have contemplated arranging the leaves of each blank inWays other than that described, whereby they would be separable on linesdifierently located from those shown on the drawings, the essentialfeatures of the invention being hereinafter set forth.

' Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described a wayof constructing and using the same, although without attempting to setforth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes ofits use, I declare that what I claim is 1. A shipping-blank comprisingduplicate leaves, each divisible along a transverse line into twodissimilar sections, one section of each leaf havingappropriately-designated spaces for the reception of the signatures ofthe truckman and the carrier, whereby when filled out it serves as areceipt for the consignor, the duplicate thereof serving as a memorandumof the transaction for the carrier, the other section of each leafhaving appropriately-designated spaces for the reception of adescription of the consignment and for the signature of the carrier andthe consignee, whereby when filled out it serves as a receipt for theconsignment when signed by the consignee and as a way-bill or manifestfor the carrier, the duplicate of the last-mentionedsection serving asan identifying-memorandum for the consignee.

2. A shipping blank comprising leaves adapted to be folded one upon theother with a carbon or transferring sheet between them, said leavesbeing exact duplicates and being divisible into two dissimilar sections,one section of each leaf having appropriately-designated spaces for thereception of the signatures of the truckman and the carrier, and for thenames of the consignor and consignee,where- .by it serves when filledout as a voucher for the consignor, the duplicate se'ction serving whenfilled out as a memorandum of the transaction for the carrier, anothersection of each leaf having appropriately designated spaces for thereception of a description of the consignment and for the signatures ofthe carrier and consignee, whereby it serves as a way-bill for thecarrier and a receipt for the reception of the goods, the duplicatesection when filled out serving as a private bill from the consignor tothe consignee.

3. A shipping-blank comprising duplicate leaves adapted to be folded oneupon the other with a carbon or transferring sheet between them, eachleaf being separable into two distinct dissimilar sections, and one ofsaid sections being again separable into subsections, one section ofeach leaf having appropriately-designated spaces for the names of theconsignor and consignee and the signatures of the carrier andtruckman,whereby it serves as a receipt to the consignor, the duplicatethereof serving as a memorandum of the transaction for the carrier, theother section of each leaf having on one subsectionappropriately-designated spaces for the reception of a description ofthe consignment and the carriers charges therefor, and on the othersubsection appropriately-designated spaces for the signature of theconsignee and the signature of the carrier,whereby said section as awhole serves as a manifest or waybill, the duplicate serving as aprivate bill from the consignor to the consignee, one of the subsectionsof each of the last-mentioned sections serving as a memorandum for thecarrier or one of the parties to the'shipment.

4. An integral shipping-blank comprising duplicate separable leaves,each divisible along a transverse line into two dissimilar sections, onesection ofeach leaf having appropriately-designated spaces for thereception of the names of the consignee and the consignor and thesignatures of the truckman and common carrier, and the other section ofeach leaf having appropriately-designated spaces for a description ofthe consignment, plieate serves as the consignors private bill I0 thecost of transportation of the same, and to the consignee. the signaturesof the consignee and common In testimony whereof I have affixed mysigcarrier, whereby when said sections are filled nature in presence oftwo Witnesses.

5 out and separated one serves as a voucher for the consignor, theduplicate serves as a GILBERT memorandum of the transaction for the car-Witnesses:

rier, another section serves as a Way-bill or C. F. BROWN,

manifest and a bill for the carrier, and the dn- 0. O. STEOHER.

